The Year in Review

2010 was a fabulous year for everyone at Calvary Women’s Services – staff, volunteers and residents.  As we head into the new year, we have many accomplishments to celebrate!  A few highlights:

• Every five days a woman moved from Calvary into her own home.

• Women at Calvary achieved educational goals like GED’s, started treatment for mental illnesses, got clean and sober, learned new skills like cooking and financial management, and much more.

• We continued our successful women’s health education work. Topics of classes included breast health, diabetes, hypertension, nutrition, substance addiction, HIV/AIDS, cancer, grief and loss, and the very popular “Ask a Nurse” class.

• Kristine Thompson, Calvary’s Executive Director, received an honorable mention from the Gelman Rosenberg and Freedman 2010 EXCEL Award for excellence in nonprofit leadership.

• We hosted our Ninth Annual Hope Awards Dinner, honoring: Phyllis Caldwell, Chief of the Office of Homeownership Preservation at the Treasury Department; Kate Carr, President of Cardinal Bank; and Shonda Schilling, Founder of the SHADE Foundation.  Check out photos from the event here.

• Our successful volunteer program continued to grow.  Volunteers led classes, served meals, supervised programs overnight, held special events and much, much more.

• Calvary’s Board of Directors and staff leadership completed a new strategic plan that maps out significant growth for our programs and will guide our work through 2014.

• Calvary participated in the annual Help the Homeless Walkathon hosted by Fannie Mae.  Our extraordinary team of volunteers rallied hundreds of walkers for Calvary and raised nearly $60,000 from their families and friends.  See photos from the day here.

• Dedicated Calvary supporters held some creative and fun events to benefit our programs.  The events included a wine tasting, a tasty backyard barbecue and yoga classes at a local studio.

• Calvary’s work was recognized by the local press, including this great video on WUSA9.

We are grateful to everyone who made this possible, especially our volunteers and supporters.  And we have a lot of exciting plans for 2011, so keep checking in on the blog to find out how you can get involved!